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Contemporary Theories (contemporary + theory)
Selected AbstractsBook review: Forensic Anthropology: Contemporary Theory and PracticeAMERICAN JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2009Michelle D. Hamilton No abstract is available for this article. [source] Comparing Multiple Paths to Mastery: What is Learned?COGNITIVE SCIENCE - A MULTIDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL, Issue 5 2005Timothy J. Nokes Abstract Contemporary theories of learning postulate one or at most a small number of different learning mechanisms. However, people are capable of mastering a given task through qualitatively different learning paths such as learning by instruction and learning by doing. We hypothesize that the knowledge acquired through such alternative paths differs with respect to the level of abstraction and the balance between declarative and procedural knowledge. In a laboratory experiment we investigated what was learned about patterned letter sequences via either direct instruction in the relevant patterns or practice in solving letter-sequence extrapolation problems. Results showed that both types of learning led to mastery of the target task as measured by accuracy performance. However, behavioral differences emerged in how participants applied their knowledge. Participants given instruction showed more variability in the types of strategies they used to articulate their knowledge as well as longer solution times for generating the action implications of that knowledge as compared to the participants given practice. Results are discussed regarding the implications for transfer, generalization, and procedural application. Learning theories that claim generality should be tested against cross-scenario phenomena, not just parametric variations of a single learning scenario. [source] Differentiation and integration: guiding principles for analyzing cognitive changeDEVELOPMENTAL SCIENCE, Issue 4 2008Robert S. Siegler Differentiation and integration played large roles within classic developmental theories but have been relegated to obscurity within contemporary theories. However, they may have a useful role to play in modern theories as well, if conceptualized as guiding principles for analyzing change rather than as real-time mechanisms. In the present study, we used this perspective to examine which rules children use, the order in which the rules emerge, and the effectiveness of instruction on water displacement problems. We found that children used systematic rules to solve such problems, and that the rules progress from undifferentiated to differentiated forms and toward increasingly accurate integration of the differentiated variables. Asking children to explain both why correct answers were correct and why incorrect answers were incorrect proved more effective than only requesting explanations of correct answers, which was more effective than just receiving feedback on the correctness of answers. Requests for explanations appeared to operate through helping children notice potential explanatory variables, formulate more advanced rules, and generalize the rules to novel problems. [source] Overreachers: Hyperbole, the "circle in the water," and Force in 1 Henry 6ENGLISH LITERARY RENAISSANCE, Issue 3 2003Michael Harrawood Overreachers: hyperbole, the "circle in the water," and the imposition of force in Henry VI, Part One This essay considers Joan of Arc's "Glory is like a circle in the water," speech from Henry VI, Part One. My argument is that the circle in the water,a model for the former English victories which now Joan claims will disperse to nothing,is both a figure for and a model of what the period called "overreaching." An examination of Joan's verbal tactics in this brief speech leads me first to a historical claim that Shakespeare, through Joan, deliberately sophisticates (by weakening) the model of Tamburlainian speech which constituted his chief competition in the amphitheaters. The circle in the water simile gets its power by thematizing the pathos of its own eventual exhaustion; and unlike Tamburlaine the power of the early English histories is derived from a series of ego surges that lead ultimately to failed and exhausted verbal performers. This historical claim leads to an examination of contemporary theories about hyperbolical speech and about the personal risks of using hyperbole in public speech performances. [source] A Neo-Gramscian Approach to Corporate Political Strategy: Conflict and Accommodation in the Climate Change Negotiations*JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT STUDIES, Issue 4 2003David L. Levy ABSTRACT A neo-Gramscian theoretical framework for corporate political strategy is developed drawing from Gramsci's analysis of the relations among capital, social forces, and the state, and from more contemporary theories. Gramsci's political theory recognizes the centrality of organizations and strategy, directs attention to the organizational, economic, and ideological pillars of power, while illuminating the processes of coalition building, conflict, and accommodation that drive social change. This approach addresses the structure-agency relationship and endogenous dynamics in a way that could enrich institutional theory. The framework suggests a strategic concept of power, which provides space for contestation by subordinate groups in complex dynamic social systems. We apply the framework to analyse the international negotiations to control emissions of greenhouse gases, focusing on the responses of firms in the US and European oil and automobile industries. The neo-Gramscian framework explains some specific features of corporate responses to challenges to their hegemonic position and points to the importance of political struggles within civil society. The analysis suggests that the conventional demarcation between market and non-market strategies is untenable, given the embeddedness of markets in contested social and political structures and the political character of strategies directed toward defending and enhancing markets, technologies, corporate autonomy and legitimacy. [source] THE PUZZLE OF FALLIBLE KNOWLEDGEMETAPHILOSOPHY, Issue 3 2008HAMID VAHID Abstract: Although the fallible/infallible distinction in the theory of knowledge has traditionally been upheld by most epistemologists, almost all contemporary theories of knowledge claim to be fallibilist. Fallibilists have, however, been forced to accommodate knowledge of necessary truths. This has proved to be a daunting task, not least because there is as yet no consensus on how the fallible/infallible divide is to be understood. In this article, after examining and rejecting a number of representative accounts of the notion of fallible knowledge, I argue that the main problems with these accounts actually stem from the very coherence of that notion. I then claim that the distinction is best understood in terms of the externalist/internalist conceptions of knowledge. Finally, I seek to garner some independent support for the proposal by highlighting some of its consequences, including its surprising bearing on certain recent and seemingly distant controversies involving issues in epistemology and philosophy of mind. [source] FANTASY, FICTION, AND FEELINGSMETAPHILOSOPHY, Issue 5 2006NORMAN KREITMAN Abstract: The nature of fantasy has been little discussed, despite its importance in the arts. Its significance is brought out here in relation to the long-standing debate on the alleged paradox of fiction,that we respond emotionally to characters and events known to be unreal. Examination of the paradox shows it to be ill founded once the nature of fantasy is appreciated. Moreover, a detailed consideration of fantasy shows that it can itself provide a plausible account of our emotional reactions to creative literature, an account that, after a review of some possible objections, is then contrasted with the leading contemporary theories. [source] Examining the "Whole Child" to Generate Usable KnowledgeMIND, BRAIN, AND EDUCATION, Issue 4 2009Gabrielle Rappolt-Schlichtmann ABSTRACT Despite the promise of scientific knowledge contributing to issues facing vulnerable children, families, and communities, typical approaches to research have made applications challenging. While contemporary theories of human development offer appropriate complexity, research has mostly failed to address dynamic developmental processes. Research typically fragments or splits the human organism into "investigatable" units,biology, behavior, culture, genetics, relationships, innate modules of mind, etc.,resulting in the inevitable loss of the person as an integrated, embodied center of agency. This is problematic for generating knowledge that is usable because in educational practice the unit of analysis and application is the whole person. We discuss the problems inherent to generating usable knowledge when theory and research methodology are so deeply incongruent. In an illustrative example, we adopt a "person-in-context" perspective to demonstrate how research has led to the mischaracterization of maltreated children as immature, disorganized, and dysregulated. Using this "person-in-context" perspective in research can facilitate generating usable knowledge. [source] Redefining functional models of basal ganglia organization: Role for the posteroventral pallidum in linguistic processing?MOVEMENT DISORDERS, Issue 11 2004Brooke-Mai Whelan PhD Abstract Traditionally the basal ganglia have been implicated in motor behavior, as they are involved in both the execution of automatic actions and the modification of ongoing actions in novel contexts. Corresponding to cognition, the role of the basal ganglia has not been defined as explicitly. Relative to linguistic processes, contemporary theories of subcortical participation in language have endorsed a role for the globus pallidus internus (GPi) in the control of lexical,semantic operations. However, attempts to empirically validate these postulates have been largely limited to neuropsychological investigations of verbal fluency abilities subsequent to pallidotomy. We evaluated the impact of bilateral posteroventral pallidotomy (BPVP) on language function across a range of general and high-level linguistic abilities, and validated/extended working theories of pallidal participation in language. Comprehensive linguistic profiles were compiled up to 1 month before and 3 months after BPVP in 6 subjects with Parkinson's disease (PD). Commensurate linguistic profiles were also gathered over a 3-month period for a nonsurgical control cohort of 16 subjects with PD and a group of 16 non-neurologically impaired controls (NC). Nonparametric between-groups comparisons were conducted and reliable change indices calculated, relative to baseline/3-month follow-up difference scores. Group-wise statistical comparisons between the three groups failed to reveal significant postoperative changes in language performance. Case-by-case data analysis relative to clinically consequential change indices revealed reliable alterations in performance across several language variables as a consequence of BPVP. These findings lend support to models of subcortical participation in language, which promote a role for the GPi in lexical,semantic manipulation mechanisms. Concomitant improvements and decrements in postoperative performance were interpreted within the context of additive and subtractive postlesional effects. Relative to parkinsonian cohorts, clinically reliable versus statistically significant changes on a case by case basis may provide the most accurate method of characterizing the way in which pathophysiologically divergent basal ganglia linguistic circuits respond to BPVP. © 2004 Movement Disorder Society [source] Redistricting, Candidate Entry, and the Politics of Nineteenth-Century U.S. House ElectionsAMERICAN JOURNAL OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, Issue 2 2006Jamie L. Carson The effects of redistricting on candidate entry patterns in contemporary House races has received growing attention in the scholarly literature, yet virtually no consideration has been given to this question in the context of historical elections. This is unfortunate as the wider variation in congressional redistricting during the nineteenth century gives us increased leverage in terms of understanding strategic candidate behavior. Utilizing a new dataset of candidate quality for nineteenth-century House races, we examine whether candidates with prior electoral experience are more likely to run in districts that are altered during the redistricting process, and provide an account of how differences in the prevalence of redistricting may affect strategic entry decisions of politicians. Our results suggest that entry decisions and electoral outcomes are affected by redistricting in this era. Moreover, our analysis provides an opportunity to use history to test contemporary theories of congressional elections in a broader context. [source] The geometry of coexistenceBIOLOGICAL JOURNAL OF THE LINNEAN SOCIETY, Issue 1 2000PRIYANGA AMARASEKARE Understanding the processes that maintain diversity has been the focus of extensive study, yet there is much that has not been integrated into a cohesive framework. First, there is a separation of perspective. Ecological and evolutionary approaches to diversity have progressed in largely parallel directions. Second, there is a separation of emphasis. In both ecology and population genetics, classical theories favour local explanations with emphasis on population dynamics and selection within populations, while contemporary theories favour spatial explanations, with emphasis on population structure and interactions among populations. What is lacking is a comparative approach that evaluates the relative importance of local and spatial processes in maintaining genetic and ecological diversity. I present a framework for diversity maintenance that emphasizes the comparative approach. I use a well-known but little-used mathematical approach, the perturbation theorem for dynamical systems, to identify key points of contact between ecological and population genetic theories of coexistence. These connections provide for a synthesis of several important concepts: population structure (source-sink versus extinction-colonization), spatial heterogeneity (intrinsic versus extrinsic) in fitness and competitive ability, and temporal scales over which local and spatial processes influence diversity. This framework ties together a large and diverse body of theory and data from ecology and population genetics. It yields comparative predictions that can serve as guidelines in biodiversity management. [source] Relationship between L1 and L2 word-level reading and phonological processing in adults learning English as a second languageJOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN READING, Issue 4 2007Gina L. Harrison Word-level reading and phonological processing measures were administered in English and Chinese to adult ESL students whose first language (L1) was Mandarin and whose second language (L2) was English. Instructors also identified students who may be at risk for L2 reading difficulties based on specific identification criteria. L2 phonological processing measures were related to L2 word-level reading and there was a cross-linguistic relationship between L1 and L2 phonological processing measures. Students considered at risk for L2 reading difficulties also differed significantly from those students not at risk on one L1 and several L2 phonological processing measures. Results are discussed in relation to contemporary theory on the assessment and identification of reading difficulties in English language learners. [source] The Idea of Deliberative Democracy.RATIO JURIS, Issue 4 2001A Critical Appraisal The deliberative conception of politics seems to be necessary for the legitimation of state power through democratic will-formation and decision-making. However, the author maintains that a complex theory of democracy cannot merely consist in procedural prerequisites for organizing the concomitant institutional settings. In particular, such a theory must comprise some substantive presuppositions, such as social and economic rights, in order to diminish existing material inequalities, especially those connected with social exploitation and domination. The author argues that a contemporary theory of democracy should reflect on the autonomization of mechanisms of egoistic action challenging not only the democratic political order, but also the very reproduction preconditions of societies all over the world. In this perspective, the model of associative democracy, which is suggested nowadays as a sort of substantive correlative to the institutional proceduralism, could not significantly rejuvenate the traditional representative democracy. Instead, democracy could only be given a fresh impulse if democratic deliberation penetrates the currently forbidden field of capitalist production and social exploitation, the locus where social inequality and effective unfreedom are endlessly reproduced. [source] | ||||||||||||||||